


Discovery

by PrehistoricMuffin



Series: Runaways [1]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe–Canon Divergence, Gen, Stag Beetles are chaotic good as an organization, The Past, discussions of death and disease, it's This Game what can you do, no beta we die like the fossilized bug in the Abyss, possibly unreasonable amounts of speculation on the lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:15:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27988311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrehistoricMuffin/pseuds/PrehistoricMuffin
Summary: Hornet finds something in the depths of Deepnest that changes her life completely.
Series: Runaways [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049921
Comments: 23
Kudos: 134





	1. °Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [It's All Well Above Wonder Anyway](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22913191) by [bugbee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugbee/pseuds/bugbee). 



> Hello Hollow Knight fandom. Credit where credit is due, this was highkey inspired by [this AU](https://sad-1st.tumblr.com/tagged/runaway-au) on Tumblr. Also inspired by various writers in this fandom, who I'll try to note as it becomes relevant, but for now, check out the main one!  
> Hollow Knight belongs to Team Cherry, I'm just a writer with a lot of feelings  
> Featured in this chapter: Getting lost in Deepnest, falling, large scale minor character death, and quick compartmentalization of grief that will definitely come back to bite in the future  
> 12/16/2020: fussed with a few things

Hornet was lost.

This was absurd–Deepnest was her home, she shouldn’t get lost here.

But there were so many turns, and so much chittering of the beasts, garpedes thundering through the tunnels and making her jump out of the way, and failing to remember where she’d come from, again and again–Herrah had never let her out here on her own, she’d never needed to know what turn to take, but now…

Hornet turned another corner, and startled.

A familiar pale mask peered down at her.

“Pure?”

The moment she spoke, they darted away from the ledge.

Hornet jumped immediately after them; they couldn’t possibly handle Deepnest, she had to protect them–!

They disappeared into a down-diving tunnel, and Hornet followed unquestioningly.

Hornet fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And fell into hot water, the Soul in it restoring her energy. The hot spring–and suddenly Hornet’s location snapped into place, but she was distracted.

There were more vessels, other than Pure–no, that wasn’t Pure. Their horns were narrower, the tips bisected into two, and they were smaller, but there were over a dozen of them, one a little taller than the others. The tall one and the one Hornet had first seen wore tiny worn nails across their backs. Each one’s horns varied.

One who had completely bypassed Hornet’s notice for their small size and the dark crystals dangling from their crooked horns shot Soul magic at her.  
Hornet gasped and ducked.

They shot another–it came screaming at her.

She darted away, hand reaching for her needle, when she realized–the vessel was shaking. All of them were shaking, clinging to each other, the soul caster the only one daring to try to scare her off, firmly planted between her and the others.

This wasn’t the attack of a warrior, but a desperate child trying to protect their family.

Hornet’s hands changed track to plaintive gesturing. “Wait! Wait! I’m not here to hurt you!”

The spell-caster stilled, but stayed ready, hands poised for another blast of Soul.

“I am…I am your sister.”

The vessels all perked to attention.

“The Pale King is my father, too. I…No one knew there were more,” she breathed. “How many of you are there?”

A long pause. The spell-caster slowly lowered their hands, and looked to their other siblings. Then they bumbled over to Hornet, pulled a piece of metal from beneath their cloak, and began to write, painstakingly slow, in the ground.

_More than count, but not here. Just us._

It took a moment for Hornet to grasp the meaning. “But…Father said…”

They wrote two more glyphs. _Others dead._

Hornet gaped at the vessel’s blank–no, solemn–face.

“You’re the last vessels.”

Nod.

“The only ones who made it out of the Abyss.”

Another nod.

Hornet sat heavily on the bench near the hot spring, leaned over her knees and buried her face in her hands.

The rest of her and Pure’s siblings were dead.

She’d never know them, never know what their masks looked like or how they would play or if they could’ve beaten her in a spar. When her father had said Pure was the only one to make it out of the Abyss…warp and _weft_.

A nudge to her face.

She startled slightly–most creatures in Deepnest produced at least some noise to detect their movement by. While she’d been sitting, the vessels had all shuffled closer, and the writer had poked gently at her face with their small, soft hand. “I’m–I’m all right, little ones. I am just…I am glad you made it,” she said solemnly. There was nothing she could do for the siblings she’d never know, but she could help these ones.

Something settled into place.

She’d help these ones. These ones would be safe, and Father would never know.

“How long have you been here?”

Shard held up their tiny hand, started to count, then looked at it, head tilted.

“…How old are you?”

Collective shrugs that answered nothing.

Hornet sighed, and decided to ask something that didn’t have to do with time. “What are your names?”

Another shrug from the writing vessel. _Some names, some no._

That took a moment to parse. “Some of you have names and others do not?”

A nod. _Choice_.

Ohhhh. “Would you tell me the names of those who have them?”

A nod. They pointed at each one in turn. _Ghost_ –the first one Hornet had seen– _Brook_ –the taller one, with three asymmetrical horns– _Zin, Zoom_ –a pair, one with two small horns, one bent, the other with two horns like branches and two like spikes, _Min, Miri, Moe_ , the three clinging to each other, Min with short, straight horns, Miri with slightly curling thicker ones, and Moe with down-curving ones, _Shard_ , and they pointed at themself. They flipped the tablet back over. _Mentioned father?_

“Yes. You…you don’t actually know your parents, do you?” Hornet’s heart sank when several of the vessels exchanged confused looks and Shard just shook their head. “Perhaps it is for the best. My mother is Herrah the Beast, and my father is the Pale King. He created all of you, somehow, with the White Lady, which I think makes you his children, and my siblings.”

_Sister_.

Hornet stared at the word like it might leap off the page. Took a shaky breath, before she could overthink their quick trust. “How can you write, but not the others?”

_Shaman teach. Shard teach siblings, but best._

And that must be how Shard knew spells, as well. Determined little creature.

Shard wrote another set of words. _Shaman teach sign. Shard teach sister?_

“I would like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Vessel kids of this AU](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YXBNavmUSO4c3oXaSrHlemPvZTBq3JZM?usp=sharing) . Be warned, I am much more a writer than an artist, but these are coherent drawings and vessels are hard to explain. Also spoilers abound on these drawings, in the form of names. I can also be found on [the tumblr](https://talesfromthephanerozoic.tumblr.com/)


	2. °Big World, Little Vessels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life of several traumatized overly-capable children  
> Featuring spells, Deepnest, and one very skittish vessel

The vessels weren’t sure how long they’d been in Deepnest. The vessels knew where’d they come from, but the trip from and the reason why they left was a blur. All Shard could attach to their birthplace was a visceral fear of light, and the fact that they had left many dead siblings behind. More clearly, they remembered the shaman who had spooked them by the shade gate, and the vessel-shaped creature that had lured them into a deep corner of the tunnels, attempted to trap and kill them there. It hadn’t succeeded, but only barely.

The world was big, and Shard and their siblings were very small.

So they had to be able to protect themselves.

The danger of the big world had made Ghost and Brook pick up nails from a few old bodies by the monster’s den, but all they could manage was crude technique cobbled together from the few warriors they had seen from afar.

Shard had a teacher, had the benefit of knowing almost exactly what they were doing. They could defend their siblings best, no matter…no matter how the big, beautiful world _horrified_ them.

But now they had a sister! A big sister, who could help them against the big world. She had a needle, and she looked like she could use it.

“Are you listening?” Shard jumped at the Shade Shaman’s words, and he sighed. “Your power is good, but you need to be more careful about your aim.”

They nodded, refocused, and shot another bolt of Soul at the target. It hit a few finger lengths from the center.

“Better.” The Shade Shaman frowned studiously, tracing a hand over the masks pasted to his shell. “If you can’t focus, our time would be better spent with other ventures.”

Shard wilted.

He softened. “We can try again tomorrow, little one.”

They brightened, just a little. “See you?”

“See you.”

Shard hesitated only a moment before darting out the Shaman’s hut.

And stopped, just like always, something oppressive and heavy in the air, drawing their gaze to the portal across from the Shaman’s house.

They always felt shuddery around here; that shadowy gate reminded them of their dark birthplace, more than could be explained by it being the way out.

They swallowed their nerves and followed the tunnels, gradually going up. The thundering of garpedes came as a relief. A little more dodging of earth and Deepnest’s creatures, made easier by spaced out lumafly lanterns and their well-adjusted eyes, and…

Why was Zin here, away from the safety of the hot spring, staring at a pit of writhing creatures and not reacting to the dirtcarver crawling steadily toward their back?

Shard leapt around their sibling and shot a burst of Soul at the carver. It flopped on the ground, Soul residue rising off of it. Before it could all fizzle away, Shard focused and pulled the Soul back into them, gathering just enough for some last-minute jump boosts.

For a moment, they stood still, regaining their breath, resettling their nervous shudders.

Then they turned on their startled sibling. _Why wander?_ Shard said, head turning this way and that even as they spoke. _Not safe!_

Saw creature! It ran away. Zin pointed at the dead dirtcarver.

Just a beast, nothing that could bring them to the Light, or to the King Hornet spoke of. Shard relaxed a little. _Come on, spring safer._

Zoom waited anxiously at the tunnel entrance. They immediately pulled Zin into a hug, and Shard let the last of their tension out. Finally, safe.

The trios were sleeping in a heap next to the warm water, camouflaged by steam, Ghost and Brook were practicing nail fighting without actually hitting each other, Zoom had dragged Zin off to sign nonsense at each other, and everyone else was weaving something from the stringy mushrooms that sprouted here and there.

Shard sat down to watch Ghost and Brook. _Sister today?_ they asked in Voidspeak, the murmur resonating through the shadows.

Ghost skidded to the side on a dodge. _Not yet._

The days had fallen mostly into a pattern. Practice, play, keep an eye out for predators, see if Hornet would visit. Last time she’d taught Ghost and Brook some weapon techniques.

The light steps of a spider approached from the west, only slightly muffled by the bubbling hot spring.

Immediately, the vessels darted out of sight–behind rocks, into the darkness of the opposite tunnel. Shard, Ghost, and Brook tucked themselves behind a large rock, arms around each other as the footsteps grow louder.

They stopped. “Siblings? Siblings!”

Oh, Hornet!

Shard stuck their head up from behind the rock just in time to see their siblings follow suit, tiny masks stark against the dark stone.

Hornet’s anxious expression eased. “There you are. I thought–never mind. Why were you hiding?”

Shard pulled out their tablet, a gift from their teacher, as she approached. She wasn’t fluent in snails’ sign, yet. _Some things not as friendly as sister._

“Certainly not in Deepnest,” Hornet agreed, concerned. “Has anyone seen you?”

No one but the Shade Shaman, but he didn’t count. Shake.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and sat down by the rocks. “Have you learned anything interesting from your shaman teacher today?”

Shard shook their head, signed, “Just practice.” In the background, the quiet thuds and occasional clangs of Ghost and Brook’s spar continued.

“Where are the trios?”

Tablet time. _Sleeping behind those rocks._ Point. “How is sister?”

“I’m well enough. Father is sending me on a diplomatic visit to Greenpath with some of the nobles from the City–” A distinct annoyance on her tongue “–so I won’t visit for a while. ”

_Thank you for telling. We’ll miss you._

A long pause, then Hornet asked, “I’ve been wondering, what are those crystals hanging from your horns?”

Shard’s hand trailed up to the fragments, hanging from ratty spiders’ silk they’d found in the tunnels.

“Yes, those.”

Shard struggled to articulate it. _Memory for dead siblings. Shards._

“…Eggshells.” Hornet slumped despondently against the stone. “Your siblings, what happened to them? If you’re willing to tell.”

Shard’s hands started to shake. They…they couldn’t…

Hornet’s hands reached toward theirs before she visibly stopped herself. “You need not speak of it, if it pains you.”

_Would want to. Can’t remember._

“You can’t…How can you not remember?”

_Don’t remember a lot of things. Barely remember finding hot spring._

Hornet’s alarm was so palpable that Shard had to grab her hands, give them a gentle squeeze. “I–I’m very glad I found you before someone else did.”

“Us, too, sister.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When in doubt, end with hurt/comfort  
> I'm not totally happy with this chapter so I'll probably make a few tweaks later, but it ticks all my narrative boxes and I wanted to get this out before my weekend was eaten by dungeons and dragons. Now the necessary exposition is done. And now you've met the Shade ~~Curmudgeon~~ Shaman! Virtual cookies to those who can guess where in the game he's from, and what "monster" is  
> Edit 1/16/2020: I finally figured out what was bugging me about this chapter! Ah-ha!


	3. °Preoccupied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hornet is very distracted.  
> Featuring plants, politics, disease, discussion of quarantine procedures, and sneaking around with advantage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Raises hand triumphantly and then falls to the floor* I'd hoped to get this out sooner, but this chapter fought me, and I got distracted worldbuilding. Also something new I'll be doing in the beginning notes is the "featuring" item. Basically just letting y'all know what you're getting into with each chapter. I'll be adding them to the past chapters as well. I don't think anything in the Runaways series will warrant trigger warnings? Please let me know if I turn out to be wrong. Please check the end notes for a quick summary of this fic's future!

Processions through Hallownest were annoying. Doing so with the presence of several chatty Hallowed City nobles was terrible. And doing it with fifteen siblings at a hot spring deep underground where anything or anyone could find them was the worst. Hornet couldn’t concentrate at all on the main diplomat’s droning speech to a group of unconvinced Mosskin, her eyes darting from one patch of green to another.

It had been a few weeks since she had met the group of vessels, and every time she checked the hot spring she feared they’d be gone. It hadn’t happened yet, unless one counted the last time she’d visited, when they’d nearly scared the life out of her by hiding anywhere they could fit.

There had to be a safer place for them. They couldn’t go to Distant Village–-Herrah would be duty-bound to return them to Father, and he would throw them back into the Abyss, Hornet was sure. The single Pure Vessel was proof enough of that.

Hornet glanced side-long at the Great Knight Isma standing beside her. Father had appointed the knight as her guard for the day, but her presence was also desired for her cordial relations with the Mosskin.

The Infection had struck Greenpath particularly hard. It spread through its leaves and thorns with ease. Infected Mosskin would wander onto the King’s Path and attack citizens of Hallownest, who would in turn defend themselves. The lucid Mosskin had suggested a full evacuation of the Path territories until the Infection was dealt with. Hornet knew that Father favored the idea, but as always, it was the nobles barring the way. She wasn’t sure what it was this time. Something about the farms along the King’s Path being essential to the Hallowed City, as if there weren’t the entire Crossroads agriculture district right there.

…No matter the outcome of this discussion, the Green Caverns wouldn’t be a bad place for Hornet’s siblings to live. Provided there was a suitable hiding place off the path.

Another glance at Isma. She was still rapt with the–-oh, the diplomats’ discussion had escalated to a true argument. One of the Moss Knights looked ready to draw their nail.

“The inhabitants of the King’s Path are no longer safe,” implored the head Mosskin diplomat, whose name Hornet could not remember. “Our truce cannot stand if our Infected kin forget it.”

“The City must have access to the farmland here,” blustered Melsea, Liaison to the Green Caverns from the Heart of Hallownest.

Hornet listened just long enough to hear one of the Moss Knights bring up the Crossroads district–- _about time_ –-before her thoughts skewed, again, toward her siblings.

Maybe she could step away for a few minutes and find a safe spot? The plaza was neutral territory, not far from the border between the Path and Mosskin territory. That couldn’t be too hard, since–

“Stay here,” Isma said, taking her staff in both hands.

Hornet had no idea what had happened, but Melsea was being held off the ground by a disapproving Moss Knight while another Moss Knight helped a diplomat off the ground.

Well. These negotiations were descending into chaos. Perfect for slipping away.

The delegation had passed a long-quarantined neighborhood on the way from the Stag Station to the plaza. It was probably abandoned by any Hallownest citizens.

Hornet looked behind her–everyone was still caught up in the impending diplomatic crisis–then darted back toward the district.

The houses were haphazard huts constructed of branches and old vines, a few lucky ones built under overhangs of sod. They were all empty, even of Infected bugs, but most were too small and too exposed to keep her rambunctious siblings. Fresh leaves and vines were beginning to creep into the decrepit homes as well; they probably wouldn’t be inhabitable much longer.

The houses suddenly stopped, and the feel of ground beneath her feet changed.

This…wasn’t the King’s Path. It was made of cobble, instead of smooth slates of artificial stone. Some old Mosskin track?

Hornet stepped up a few platforms, leaned on a mossy wall–and went tumbling through brush, into a trail. An empty, mossy trail, barely allowed to be called cobble any longer. All bug sound was distant, further muffled by the hiss of acid. The ceiling was low, barely tall enough for her to stand straight. The last stretch of greenery she almost had to hunch through, before it opened up into a large cavern full of old engraved stones.

What was this? There wasn’t a trace of Hallownest markings here, anywhere.

Hornet ducked down another level. So this was where the acid was. Several shallow pools, fizzing and bubbling.

There was a lamp post, of the Hallownest style, standing out in the greenery like a crooked limb. She leapt over the last pool of acid, and found the metal tarnished and crusty. Old enough that it didn’t worry her too much. She walked a little further, fewer and fewer stone markers along the way, and found herself in front of an enormous acid lake in a large well-lit cavern, a huge shell standing beside it.

She peered in. Some sort of shrine, empty as the rest of the place, dimly lit from the degrading ceiling, plants overflowing from the soil skirting the walls.

She pulled her head out, and promptly glared out at the lake.

What was a Hallownest-designed dock doing in a place like this? The metal was as old and tarnished as the lamp post Hornet had found. That was reassuring, at least, and were those Hallowed Tongue engravings on one of the plates? She squinted. _Gift to the Mosskin, part of exchange for the King’s Path territories._

…That date was hundreds of years ago. No one living today would have been here, and Hornet knew her father well enough to know that it would take a lot for him to remember such a place after so much time.

This patch of Greenpath, spacious and secluded, would be a perfect place to hide her siblings.

(No one at the meeting even noticed she’d left.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I overanalyzed all of this  
> Anyway Discovery has only one chapter left, and it's almost finished! As you've probably noticed, the update schedule is basically when I get things done because I write these for fun and proper schedules stress me out. That being said, I also don't want to leave you guys hanging for super long, so I'm going to do my best to finish as much as I can before posting at all, which means there might be long-ish breaks between installments. More notes on that with next chapter.


	4. °Settling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hornet gets her siblings out of Deepnest  
> Featuring some Little Weavers, Deepnest concerns, an explanation about the Infection to the out-of-the-loop vessels, and a very important hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you it was almost done. Thank you all for your feedback, it really keeps me going!  
> A quick note: I use dashes to denote flashbacks and other things that aren't happening currently, -like this-

–“I’ve found somewhere safe for you. I don’t have much time right now, but I’ll be back soon to take you there. Do anything you need to now.”–

To Hornet’s relief, all her siblings were indeed waiting at the hot spring when she returned. She ushered them through the west tunnels with all speed. Brook walked beside her while Ghost and Shard brought up the rear. Weapons were out, eyes peeled for any hungry beasts. The scuttle of lesser beasts made everyone jolt, but Hornet kept the group moving, skirting around the usual Devout patrol routes. There was a narrow escape where one was in a tunnel only just beneath them all. Sometimes, climbing was necessary, and it would take many terrifying minutes to scale the walls, Hornet’s thread their only way up.

“Hello, princess!”

Hornet spooked at the voice, mid-process of pulling Brook up, Zin and Zoom already with her.

Three little Weavers stood behind her.

One of them looked curiously down the ledge. “What are you doing?”

Hornet thought quickly. “I’ve been tasked with taking these children to Distant Village, without alerting any of the Devouts or Elder Weavers. Would you help me?”

“Certainly, princess!” said another, sounding all too pleased with the idea.

“One of you take this.” The one who’d been quiet eagerly took Hornet’s thread and finished pulling Brook to the ledge. “They’re skittish, so I’ll take care of tying them to the thread. Their siblings should be enough to keep them calm once they’re transported up.”

Brook looked about ready to draw their nail at the sight of strangers, but Zin and Zoom managed to calm them down, and then Hornet jumped down to the rest of her siblings. Three threads followed her down.

“Three little Weavers are helping us,” Hornet told them. “Don’t hurt them, and don’t run once you get up there.”

Some anxiety, but overall just solemn nods.

The trip went much quicker after that, more pairs of hands easing the journey. The vessels calmed down after the third ledge, and one of the Weavers actually started explaining their thread to Zin and Zoom after the two showed interest.

Finally, the cavern evened out in the direction of Distant Village, and Hornet dipped her head to her helpers. “Thank you for your assistance, Weavers, but I can take it from here.”

“Anytime, princess,” said the most talkative of the bunch, and the three skittered back toward the Weavers’ Den.

The vessels stared at the webbed cavern in awe, and Brook pointed questioningly at the large buildings hanging from the ceiling.

“That’s Distant Village. Keep your heads down, we’re not going there.” Hornet herded her siblings into the elevator; luckily, they all fit, and into the Stag Station they went. Hornet braced herself, and rang the bell.

The children startled at both the jingle and the following rumble of an approaching Stag. He skidded to a stop, and gazed at Hornet with puzzlement before dipping his head. “Princess?”

Hornet relaxed slightly; she knew this Stag. “These children are in danger. It is of the utmost importance you tell no one about this trip,” she ordered the Stag, as Brook helped load the smallest vessels onto his back.

The Stag nodded. “I will take this journey to my grave, princess. Where are you headed?”

“Greenpath,” she said, mounting him last.

The vessels looked up at her in clear surprise. That was fair, given that it was news to them as well.

“All aboard?”

Hornet counted. One two three four five…fifteen. “Yes, that’s all of them.”

“To Greenpath!” The Stag galloped back down the corridors, the children hanging onto the saddle for dear life.

The Greenpath Stag Station was small and functional, though appropriately decorated with potting vases and planting boxes of greenery. Hornet slid off the Stag’s back first, and quickly plucked sibling after sibling out of the seats. They trotted through the station, stopping to peer at the plants. “Thank you,” she said to the Stag, and turned to corral the vessels.

The Stag’s low voice stopped her. “Princess…am I wrong to note some family resemblance between you and these children?”

She peered back, sighing. “Is it that obvious?”

“Perhaps only to me.” The Stag dipped his head. “I will spread word to the other Stags. We will keep any journeys you must take among us.”

“Truly?”

“The Stags’ only duty is to answer questions asked and transport those who need it.”

“And those answers?”

“No one ever said they must always be truthful.”

Hornet giggled. “Should I ever feel a revolution against my father is necessary, I will ask the Stags for help.”

“If you feel it is necessary, I am sure the Stags will whole-heartedly agree.” Another bell jingled down the tunnels. “Farewell, and good fortune to you and your kin.”

The thunder of his passage startled the vessels again as Hornet returned to her gaggle of siblings. “We must be swift,” she said. “A citizen of Hallownest may pass through at any time, and we cannot be seen.” She led them out of the Stag Station, nudging them when they gawked at the beautiful plant life, and up another climb. Fortunately, this one did not demand thread, only somewhat coordinated jumps. Shard brought up the rear to catch anyone who fell while Hornet pulled the rest up higher.

“Scary here,” Shard signed, once everyone had made it into the vacant neighborhood.

“It was abandoned due to the Infection. Have no fear–there are no husks to be seen.”

Ghost tugged on her poncho and made an unfamiliar sign.

“I’ll explain more later, I promise.”

The overgrown cobble track was unused as before. Hornet peeked behind the mossy vines of the false wall, making sure the tunnel ahead was still empty, then gestured quietly with her hands, watching to be sure no one passed by. The vessels took the hint easily. One last look, and Hornet followed them in.

First impressions seemed…good, with the stares and the excited bounds through the tunnel. “This is the place I was thinking you could stay,” Hornet explained, catching her siblings’ attention in the first large cavern. “You need to be mindful of acid, but this is a rather large area, and hidden from all but the Mosskin, who feel no loyalty to the Pale King. You should be safe here.”

The littlest vessels were already dashing away from the main group to explore. A few lingered, and Shard signed with excitement, “Very good, sister!”

“You like it?”

Nods all around.

“Safe, and big!” added Brook.  
Miri made a sign Hornet didn’t know, which Shard quickly translated as _sanctuary_.

“Sanctuary,” she echoed. “Quite an apt title. Now, as to the Infection–”

The words immediately attracted the attention of the rest of her siblings, fifteen pairs of dark eyes on her.

That was slightly disarming. “It is a disease of dream and light. It is running rampant through the kingdom. Everyone is trying to cure it, or mitigate its impact at least.”

“Hurt us?” Shard asked.

“Father created you from Void; that darkness leaves you almost entirely immune,” Hornet assured them.

Shard pointed at her.

“Me? Father’s light protects me, don’t worry.” Hornet looked over her siblings, trying to memorize the shapes of their horns, and braced herself. “I must go,” she said, “but I’m glad I could help.” Herrah would kill her if she found out that she’d left during sleep hours.

Suddenly, the vessels surrounded her in an arm-height group hug. Brook’s second longest horn poked into her chin–she could’ve sworn they were shorter than this. Many tiny arms wrapped around her waist and legs.

Her first hug, with the siblings she might’ve never known she had.

She shut her eyes tight and pulled every one she could reach closer.

They were finally safe, in a place where Father wouldn’t find them, and there were no Deepnest beasts to hunt them. They could finally be _children_ , instead of whatever their time alone and afraid in Deepnest had been slowly forging them into.

One by one, the vessels let go, but none of them wandered off just yet.

“Be safe,” Hornet whispered at last.

“Yes! Sister, too!” Shard replied.

Hornet giggled with glee, then darted back toward the path. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, in the middle of routing this I forgot what I was doing and only remembered once I got to Mato's hut in the Howling Cliffs.  
> Thus ends the discovery of the vessels. Now, as to the rest of this series–it has been split into three arcs for my own sanity, and unfortunately, the next part is the longest and the one with the least work done, so it might be a while. The good news is, the next part is all episodic shenanigans until the plot kicks in, and I have lots of ideas. As always, I can be found on [the tumblr](https://talesfromthephanerozoic.tumblr.com/). Hope to see you all in the next segment!


End file.
